Main menu

Post navigation

Guest Blog: We Took AIM at Maternal Mortality and Made a Difference

No woman should die on what ought to be the happiest day of her life. Yet that is exactly what’s happening in the United States at a rate unmatched in the developed world. ProPublica-NPR recently highlighted the realities of maternal mortality in an article about a 36-year-old African-American mother—an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—who died after giving birth from complications of high blood pressure.

The rates of maternal mortality in our home state of Michigan are stunning. There are 10.6 pregnancy-related deaths per 100,000 women, and African-American women die at a rate that is 4.9 times higher than white women. There are many causes of maternal death. The leading causes include heart attack or heart failure, stroke from high blood pressure, severe bleeding, serious infection, and blood clots. And, as more pregnant women have chronic health conditions such as obesity and heart disease, they become more likely to die during or after pregnancy. Even more startling is that, for every woman who dies, there are 100 more who suffer severe maternal morbidity—life-threatening injuries, infection, or disease due to chronic or acute conditions

Last month, the Alliance for Innovation for Maternal Health (AIM), a national initiative championed by 19 women’s health care organizations including ACOG, has already shown early steps toward reducing severe maternal morbidity. The goal of AIM is to reduce preventable maternal mortality and morbidity through hospital implementation of proactive patient safety bundles and resources for common pregnancy-related complications, such as preeclampsia and hemorrhage.

In 2015, Michigan became one of the first eight states to join AIM. ACOG’s Michigan Section teamed up with the Michigan Health & Hospital Association and the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services, along with the American College of Nurse Midwives and the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetrical and Neonatal Nurses to align resources and work cohesively as a single initiative for all birthing hospitals in the state. The initiative is called MIAM.

Roughly 80 hospitals in Michigan have committed to implementing the AIM safety bundles. They have also committed to collecting and reporting data on maternal outcomes to drive quality improvement. This reporting allows hospitals of similar size and capacity to assess and compare their performance and progress.

While this type of work requires a culture shift that will take time to fully adopt, we are already seeing dramatic improvements in maternal health. In Michigan alone, there has been a

10.5 percent decrease in severe maternal morbidity since 2016

17.9 percent decrease for other complications during labor and delivery among women who experience hemorrhage

Five percent decrease among women who experience hypertension

Recent data from four of the original eight AIM states, which collectively represent 266,717 births, also shows a marked difference in maternal outcomes. There has been a 20 percent decrease in the severe maternal morbidity rate.

Mother’s Day is a good reminder that we as health care providers must resolve to remain diligent in our efforts to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity. We commend each of our AIM hospitals and urge hospital administrators to stay focused on the task at hand: to provide the necessary support to make the AIM initiative a priority so we can succeed at keeping mothers safe.

For a long time, Michigan hasn’t been the safest place for moms—especially African-American moms—to give birth. The good news is that, over the past few years, the numbers have been finally going in the right direction. We are poised to continue making improvements and ensuring that every mom can safely give birth in Michigan, and every state in the country.